


Something Nice

by Thedupshadove



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Dr Carmilla's C- Parenting, Gen, Here I am back on my Carmilla Had Nuance bullshit, She's talked about a lot but doesn't technically appear, sort of a character study I guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:41:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26366626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thedupshadove/pseuds/Thedupshadove
Summary: Can the Carmilla-Made Mechanisms FindAnythingNice to Say About Their Creator?: A joint psychology report by Raphaella la Cognizi and Marius von Raum
Comments: 18
Kudos: 142





	Something Nice

**Jonny**

Fuck off.

_Alright, we’ll circle back to you._

**Nastya**

….She taught me many things.

_Oh?_

Remember, I was a princess in my first life. Cloistered away from the tiniest realities of day-to-day, and kept from even the most basic of skills. Cooking, caring for clothes, handling money, a thousand other great and small things I needed to learn. And much of that learning came from her. It was also her who spotted that I seemed to have a knack for machinery. So in a roundabout way, perhaps I owe her my love. 

_Really?_

Yes. But that is all. I am done now. 

**Ashes**

Hmmmm. Suppose you could say we started on a high note.

_You mean burning down Malone?_

Yup. She was all on-board for the plan. Seemed happy to stand back and fuel my imagination, let it rage wild on my first really big project. Enthusiastic, encouraging. _Supportive_. And when she pulled me back to the ship and we watched it all burn from low orbit, she threw an arm around my shoulders and asked if I felt better.

And do you know something? I really did. 

All downhill from there though.

**Ivy**

While stressing that our lives are at _least_ 75% more pleasant without Carmilla’s presence...I did appreciate her apparent lack of desire for me to join in on various violent activities. And she helped me booby-trap the library.

_Is that all?_

Yes. 

**Brian**

Well, her demeanor as a band leader was surprisingly effective.

_Can you say more?_

I mean, considering how she often treated us outside of the music room, you might expect every rehearsal to descend into shouting and recrimination and...experiments. But in point of fact she was calm, she was clear, and her criticism was constructive and delivered without rancor or malice. 

_I see. But that’s all?_

She made an integral piece of my personality controllable from the outside; I’m not sure how much praise you want from me.

**The Toy Soldier**

To Be Quite Honest, Chaps, I’m Not Sure I’m The Sort Of Subject You Want!

_Why not?_

Well, You Want To See If Everybody Can Say Something Nice About The Good Doctor Despite Being Angry With Her, Correct?

_Yes_

But I Never Was Angry With Her!

_Is that so? Because we’ve heard some stories from the other crew. About tests of how quickly your wood re-grows, and which piece will begin to heal in an even split…_

Oh Yes! But That Was Just Her Way!

_...Are you sure?_

I…Am Different From Many People. Things Do Not Hurt Me That Might Hurt You. I Do Not Always Get Angry About Things That Are Done To Me That Would Make Many People Feel Upset Or….What Is The Word Brian Used?...Violated.

_You shot Jonny when he punched you last week._

That Was Different! It Was Done For Hate Of Me, and That Hurts! But The Good Doctor Just Wanted To Know How I Work! It Was Fun To Help Her Learn! 

_….huh_

**Tim**

You understand, I wasn’t with her very long. Scarcely a couple of months. 

_Nevertheless._

Well...I was expecting her to get judgey when she heard about the moon. Silly of me to think that, I suppose, now that I know the sorts of things she got up to. Still, it was nice not to hear a lot of “Bertie wouldn’t have wanted it” and that sort of tripe.

_That’s all you’ve got?_

Only a couple of months, remember? And by time I arrived, there was clearly already a lot of bad blood in the air. 

**Jonny, second attempt**

I thought I told you to fuck off.

_So you really don’t remember anything good about Dr. Carmilla?_

I remember _plenty_ of good things, okay? I remember her holding my hand when I had my first panic attack over this damn metal thing she put in my chest! I remember dancing with her at a country shindig on some tiny little backwater. I remember how she used to smile when she heard me play the harmonica, and how proud she looked when I showed her how many different voices I could do. I remember one night we both got drunk, and I started to ramble on some story or other about when I was a child and I...I just broke down crying. And the Doc was never exactly one for soft words, but she held me while I sobbed, and it felt real. And it made me feel better.

I _also_ remember dying a thousand million times on her lab table. I remember realizing that she’d been moving my bedroom furniture infinitesimally every day for months. I remember being fed poison, and I remember being pulled apart from the inside-out. And I remember the _look_ she would give me every time I complained about any of it. A look of amusement and dismissal and, god help us, affection.

And I try not to remember the good, because whenever I do, remembering the bad begins to make even less sense and hurt even more. 

That enough _data_ for you?

_….yes._

**Author's Note:**

> It took like 10 tries and one small tantrum to format this correctly please clap


End file.
